Ultimate Self Realization

Our most beloved ISKCON Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has given us the duty to save the world from the chaos and misery caused by godlessness. Therefore as his dedicated disciples and grand disciples we must seriously devote our lives for the deliverance of the world. This is the purpose of our lives on this planet. Otherwise we have no purpose at all for being here. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada With Tamal Krishna Goswami in Bombay Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: What's Wrong With Having Sex? I am reading all your articles and all your question-answers sections, which are really mind-opening. Now shall I ask you a question in order to enlighten myself. What is wrong in having sex, as it is just a pleasure activity, which does not involve any killing of innocent lives, And my second question is, science says drinking alcohol in a limited quantity will only improve our health. So is it okay if alcohol

The most unwanted thing in this world is death. Everyone is trying to avoid or postpone it no matter what the cost. But what they do not realize is that the moment of death is the most valuable moment of your entire life because your consciousness at that moment determines your next body. You could become a plant, an animal, a human, or an eternally youthful liberated soul in the spiritual world. It all depends upon your consciousness at that most crucial of all moments, the most valuable moment of death. And if you remember Krishna at that most opportune instant you will immediately revive your eternal identity as His associate in His transcendental abode, Goloka Vrindavan. Therefore you should intensely train yourself to keep your mind fixed on Krishna at every minute. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Vishnu Jana Swami Opened ISKCON Austin in 1971 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Get More Mercy from the Spiritual Master? Hare Krishna Srila Gurudeva, All Glor

Thanks to Lord Sri Krishna and our kind-hearted donors we hit the target of collecting $80,000 towards getting a temple for ISKCON Austin. In 1971 Srila Prabhupada personally ordered me to make the Austin center a grand success. For the 43 years since ISKCON came to Austin it has never had a temple building. We have thus been meeting in houses and apartments. Now with the help of 298 of our generous readers we are a step closer to doing this special something for Srila Prabhupada in Austin. We now have $280,000 on hand to help us carry our project to the next level. Our fund raising drive was for $80,000 because that is how much we were short to purchase a house for $280,000 that we planned to renovate and turn into a temple. We put the house under a purchase contract and had it inspected by a professional house inspector. The results were not good. The house would cost up to $200,000 to renovate. Therefore we considered it wiser to instead buy empty land where we could get a much la

If you want relifef from this miserable cycle of birth and death, you must absorb your life in devotional service to Lord Sri Krishna. And Krishna says that you can only serve Him by serving his representative, the bona fide spiritual master. Therefore what you must do is crystal clear. You must take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and fully absorb your thoughts, words, and deeds in his loving service. But yet in spite of these profoundly potent instructions of the Supreme Authority, Lord Sri Krishna, if you foolishly serve your mental whims instead of serving your spiritual master, you will remain caught up in this material existence. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Walks With His Disciples Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Can A Sudra Become a Brahmana? Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. My question is: Can a person who is a sudra by dint of how he works develop the guna (nat

You are an eternal associate of the Lord in His transcendental pastimes in the spiritual world. But due to a misuse of your tiny independence you have now fallen into the hellish cycle of birth and death here in this material world where you have been transmigrating repeatedly through the 8,400,000 species foolishly trying to squeeze some enjoyment out of that place where there is no enjoyment. Therefore it is time now that you come back to your senses realizing that you are not your body, that instead you are the all-blissful, full-of-knowledge, eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna and that you return to that wonderful, ecstatic relationship you once enjoyed with that most amazing Krishna in His unlimitedly splendorous divine lila or pastimes. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Krishna Invites You to Come Back to Him Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: I'm Chanting. Why Do I Not Get Happiness? Hare Krishna, dear teacher, Please acce

If you always depend upon Krishna, you will never be disappointed in any circumstance because Krishna is the perfect orchestrator of everything. Everything that He arranges for us is done with a good reason out of His pure love for us. Because we are covered by the cloud of maya or illusion we usually cannot recognize how everything is being arranged for our benefit. But if we will always stick to the basics of chanting at least 16 rounds of Hare Krishna japa mala every day while strictly avoiding illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication, and gambling--everything will be revealed to us one day and we will fully understand how Lord Krishna has always so amazingly arranged everything so perfectly for all of us. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Krishna Bestows Unlimited Kindness Upon His Devotee Sudama Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: What To Do When Muslims Criticize My Religion? Hare Krishna, dear teacher, Please accept my humble obeisances. Al glories to Srila Prabhup

The Sanskrit word for nectar is amrita, which literally means no death. From this we can understand that the only things that are truly nectarean are those which give us immortality. Those things which keep us entangled in the cycle of birth and death, such as sex indulgence, tongue indulgence, accumulation of money, power, and prestige, even though they may sometimes appear to be nectarean, are not factually so. The reality is that they are poisonous. Therefore if you want to taste the real nectar of existence, you need to reconnect with the reservoir of unlimited nectar, Lord Sri Krishna, through reviving your lost loving relationship with Him. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Deeply Relishes the Nectar of Krishna Bhakti Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Your Vision of Homosexuals and Lesbians? During my prayers, I pray to Krishna that you may be in good health and this in way continue with Srila Prabhupada's mission. Please give me your blessing

There is truly nothing more ecstatic that Krishna katha, the topics of Krishna. The reason this is so is that Krishna Himself is personally manifested in the form of the sound vibrations which describe His glories. That all merciful Supreme Person has so kindly blessed me with unlimited opportunities to describe Him. For this I am eternally grateful to Him and to my most beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I have just been informed by my disciple, Damodar Das, that all of my recorded lectures up to July 2014 are now uploaded to the internet. They can be heard at: Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Sankarshan Das Adhikari Lecturing at ISKCON Pune--29 April 2014 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How Can I Stop Staring at Beautiful Girls? Thank you very much for your association which you are providing through the internet. And thank you very much for your mercy on rascals like me. I have given up non-vegetarian food

Don't be a slave of your senses. They are very cruel masters indeed. The reward they give you for a lifetime of dedicated service is old age, disease, and death. Therefore it does not make any sense to give them any more gratification than they require to remain healthy. Especially this applies to the tongue because it is the more voracious of all the senses. One who cannot control his tongue is also not able to control his genitals. Such an uncontrolled person who overindulges his tongue and his genitals becomes very unhealthy, he becomes implicated in volumes of sinful reactions, and he shortens his life. In this next life he will go down to animal kingdom to get a better facility to enjoy his tongue and genitals because the human life is not meant for sense gratification. It is meant for self-realization. If one will exclusive take only Krishna prasadam, his naturally will naturally be controlled, and he will make steady spiritual progress. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Devotees Re

A truly God conscious person does not hate any living being because he sees all living beings as children of God. Therefore he respects and loves everyone as his beloved family members. Anyone who tortures and butchers other living beings in the name of God is the most despicable, heinous hypocrite. Such a person's destinations is the darkest region of hell. But even such a sinful person can be relieved of all his sinful reactions if he surrenders to Krishna. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Radha and Krishna in Sri Vrindavan Forest Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Accepting Only Srila Prabhupada As My Guru Please accept my humble obeisance in your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. My question is that if I die without taking any initiation from a spiritual master but instead accept Srila Prabhupada as my spiritual master, will he help me in getting entry into Krishna's abode? I feel that Srila Prabhupada has really bestowed his mercy on foolish so

When you remember Krishna there are never any difficulties because every situation you face is another blessing from Krishna, another opportunity to absorb yourself more deeply in Krishna consciousness. Conversely, when you forget Krishna you are thrown into an ocean of unlimited difficulites. Therefore the intelligent person makes it his topmost priority to remember Krishna at every moment. For such a pure devotee there are never any diffiulties at any moment. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Prays in Pure Devotion to Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Not Be Disturbed by Atrocities of Terrorists? Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Some times when I read or hear about Islamist fanatics my mind gets disturbed. The way these guys are doing bloodshed in every part of the world and the way they are willing to kill every non Muslim in the world really gives me lot of hard emotions. I fell like that I should

In the material world everyone is running after titles and position. But a devotee of Krishna, fully realizing the temporary nature of everything in this material world, has no interest in such fleeting mundane achievements. The only position a devotee wants is to be the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna. With this title and position he is unlimitedly satisfied for all of eternity. Therefore he always humbly serves the Vaisnavas, the devotees of the Lord, relishing the sweetest happiness of pure love of God. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Devotees Relish the Association of Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Recitfy Not Fasting on Janmastami? I'm feeling ashamed for having failed to follow the principle of fasting up until midnight on the most auspicious Janmastami, the appearance day of Lord Sri Krishna. Please tell me how to rectify my fault. S.S. Answer: Strictly Observe the Fast Next Year Make sure to strictly observe the

At ISKCON Austin on the most auspicious occasion of Krishna Janmastami I initiated two disciples into the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, the Krishna bhakti disciplic succession coming from Lord Brahma. Anyone who follows this pathway of Krishna consciousness sincerely is guaranteed the highest perfection of being able to personally meet Krishna face to face and associate with Him eternally in His transcendental pastimes without getting sick, getting old, or dying ever again. So it is my sober responsibility and greatest pleasure to accept these sincere souls, Sarvakanti devi dasi and Vrindavanesvari devi dasi, as my disciples in order to help them achieve that supreme perfection. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Initiation Ceremony--17 August, 2014--ISKCON Austin Sarvakanti Devi Dasi Receives Her Chanting Beads Vrindavanesvari Devi Dasi Receives Her Chanting Beads Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How Can I Stop Eating Meat? Hare Krishna, dear teacher,

Today is Vyasa Puja, the most auspicious appearance day of my beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in this world. He appeared on this day following Janmastami in 1896 in Calcutta, India, an act of unfathomable mercy upon the fallen, condition souls of this world. By the divine potency of his appearance in this world all of the fallen, conditioned souls here will be delivered from the endless cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease. It is my greatest good fortune that he accepted me as his disciple on 12 August 1971 via a letter that he mailed to me and two other boys from London to our ISKCON center in Austin, Texas. By fully taking shelter of him as my eternal spiritual master I have become liberated from this hellish material existence. Now I have no other duty than to faithfully serve him and push forward his mission for all of eternity. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada on a Morning Walk in Vrindavan Answers by Citing the V

Today is the most auspicious day when Lord Sri Krishna appeared in this world approximately 5,000 years ago. By His appearance He accomplishes many things. He delivers the pious and annihilates the miscreants. He appears along with many of His associates from the spiritual world to display a sample of His transcendental pastimes in the spiritual world for attracting us, the fallen, conditioned souls of this world to come back to the spiritual world to rejoin Him for an amazingly blissful eternal existence with Him in His divine abode. There is no greater cause for celebration than this. Therefore devotees all over the world absorb themselves fully in Krishna consciousness on this day. They completely fast up from all eating (water is allowed) up until midnight at which time they participate in an arati ceremony to commemorate Krishna's appearing in this world at midnight. And then they honor a feast of Krishna prasadam. Take advantage of this holiest of all days to supercharge you

At the present moment we are very attached to money, women, nice houses, country, society, friends, family, and so forth. Because of these attachments we are tightly bound up by three ropes, which are the three modes of material nature. If one is tightly tied up by ropes, he cannot get free on his own. He can only become untied if he gets the help of someone else. This means that we have to transfer our tendency of being attached to a sadhu, a saintly devotee of the Lord. If we do so, that sadhu will cut through the ropes which bind us and liberate us from our entanglement in the cycle of birth and death. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada on Morning Walk With Disciples Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Am I a Crazy Fanatic? Hare Krishna, dear teacher, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. My Vaisnava friends say that it is not important to chant 16 rounds, that the most important thing is to have good relationships with

Whatever talents and abilities that one has should be used in the service of Krishna. This is the perfection of one's talents. Regarding utilization of talents Srila Prabhupada has stated as follows: "The more we serve, the more dedicated to Krishna we become; therefore a person should utilize whatever talents he has for Krishna." "You engage all your talents and energies for realizing God. Krishna consciousness. This is ideal life." "So our request is that everyone with his talents should establish the authority of the Supreme." When people join the Krishna consciousness movement they bring their talents with them. But their talents do not stop there because as soon as they engage themselves sincerely in Krishna's service so many new talents will naturally spring forth from their inner being transforming their lives into a beautiful, poetic expression of love for the Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Murlid

Others may let us down, but in God we can always trust. Krishna has no need to exploit anyone because He already owns and controls everything. He does not have to try to establish His supremacy, like all the power mongers of this world are always trying to do, because He is already automatically the supreme proprietor of everything. Therefore instead of playing any power games He simply continually bestows His mercy upon His beloved children scattered throughout all of existence. The only reason we are suffering is that we do not acknowlege Him. Sankarshan Das Adhikari There Is No One More Kind Than Lord Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Is Surrender Gradual or In A Moment? Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada Is surrendering to Lord a gradual process or can surrendering be done in a moment? Sincerely, Sunil V. Answer: That Depends on One's Power of Determination. That depends on one's power of determin

The secret of success in spiritual life is that one should always think, speak, and act in a way that is pleasing to one's spiritual master. If one deviates from this principle, he is nowhere in spiritual life like a astronaut who has lost contact with his space station or space ship and is drifting aimlessly in outer space with no hope of ever getting shelter anywhere. This is why the great Vaisnava acharya, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur has stated: yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi dhyāyan stuvaṁs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaṁ vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam "By satisfaction of the spiritual master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes satisfied. And by not satisfying the spiritual master, there is no chance of being promoted to the plane of Krishna consciousness. I should, therefore, meditate and pray for his mercy three times a day, and offer my respectful obeisances unto him, my spiritual master." If we take this principle serio

The secret of how to make steady spiritual advancement is to always remain teachable. If you think you know everything and that you have nothing more to learn, you will be stagnated on the path of spiritual awakening and will make no further progress beyond your current level, which is still steeped in ignorance. On 10 December 1976 in Hyderabad, India Srila Prabhupada explained that even when one has a become a spiritual master he should always remain teachable. He told his disciples that in the future they would become gurus with their own disciples, but even though they are acting as gurus they should still remain students. Since the spiritual masters are themselves always teachable, how much even more teachable their disciples must be. The conclusion is that if one is not teachable, he is not really a disciple. He is a disciple in name only, not in reality. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Instructs His Disciples in Mayapur Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Que

Our world has become an unspeakable nightmare. Peace is destroyed replaced by brutal warfare. All hell is breaking loose on this planet right now, And for stopping it the leaders don't have any idea how. But here is the peace formula. Please take it, my friends. Please take it. You'll see. It will not fail. Here is the peace formula. Please take it, my friends. Please take it. Surely peace will prevail. We come into this world possessing nothing. And we leave from this world with absolutely nothing. But in the middle we fight and kill claiming this is mine. Ignoring the real owner who reclaims everything in time. Here is the peace formula. Please take it, my friends. Please take it. You'll see. It will not fail. Here is the peace formula. Please take it, my friends. Please take it. Surely peace will prevail. Now listen here all of you world leaders. If you want real peace, this you must now understand. There's a Supreme Proprietor to whom everyth

Today in Texas is Balarama Jayanti, the appearance day of Lord Balarama, the expansion of Lord Krishna. He is wonderfully described as follows in the Caitanya Caritamrita Adi Lila, Chapter 5, Texts 4-11: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarama is His second body. These two are one and the same identity. They differ only in form. Lord Balarama is the first bodily expansion of Krishna, and He assists in Lord Krishna's transcendental pastimes. That original Lord Krishna appeared in Navadvipa as Lord Caitanya, and Balarama appeared with Him as Lord Nityananda. May Sri Nityananda Rama be the object of my constant remembrance. Sankarshan, Sesa Naga and the Vishnu's who lie on the Karana Ocean, Garbha Ocean and ocean of milk are His plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions. Lord Balarama is the original Sankarshan. He assumes five other forms to serve Lord Krishna. He Himself helps in the pastimes of Lo

Our scriptures say that Krishna consciousness begins from the tongue. What are the two functions of the tongue? Tasting and vibrating. So if you will chant Hare Krishna and taste Krishna prasadam, which is vegetarian foodstuffs offered to Lord Krishna with love and devotion, you will experience a most wonderful reawakening of the pure love of Krishna that has been sleeping in your heart for hundreds and millions of lifetimes. There is nothing sweeter than Krishna's names and nothing more delicious than Krishna prasadam. The Srila Prabhupada Lilamrita wonderfully describes Srila Prabhupada's glorification of prasadam when he visited the ISKCON temple in Miami, Florida, USA in February 1975: On the second night Prabhupada lectured again. Each talk was lengthy, and he answered all questions. As the last question on the last evening in Miami, one of the devotees asked, "Srila Prabhupada, if someone takes prasadam even once, is it true that they are guaranteed at least a hu

Krishna is the Supreme Controller. Everything is going on under the influence of His material and spiritual energies. Therefore it is not possible for Him to ever be defeated. Just as Krishna is never defeated, in a similar way any government which is Krishna conscious will never be defeated. In this connection Srila Prabhupada explains as follows in His purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 6.7.24: "If a government worships the brahmanas, the cows and Krishna, Govinda, it is never defeated anywhere; otherwise it must always be defeated and condemned everywhere. At the present moment, all over the world, governments have no respect for brahmanas, cows and Govinda, and consequently there are chaotic conditions all over the world. " If the world leaders will take advantage of the sublime teachings of Krishna, global peace, prosperity, and happiness will be the immediate worldwide result. Therefore out of compassion upon them we must try to somehow or convince them the government leader

This is a very special time of the year. Today we begin Jhulana-yatra, the swing ceremony of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. It is a most delightful festival. For several days every evening we will take our Radha and Damodar deities off the altar and swing them on a beautifully decorated swing along with melodious kirtan. In this way we will remember the wonderful swing pastimes of Radha and Krishna while at the same time giving them the pleasure of a swing ride. Check with your nearest ISKCON to see if they are also celebrating Juliana Yatra. If you are in central Texas, please join us Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings from 6pm to 730pm for Juliana Yatra at 10700 Jonwood Way in Austin, Texas. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Jhulan Yatra--The Swing Ceremony of Radha and Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Result of Desiring to Worship Radha-Madhava Dear Guru Maharaja, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. What happens to a pers

Do yourself a favor. Why torture yourself unnecessarily when you could be instead tasting a life of unlimited bliss at every minute. How to do that? It's very simple. All you have to do is absorb yourself 24 hours a day in Krishna consciousness by always thinking about Krishna, hearing about Krishna, talking about Krishna, and serving Krishna. Of course, if you are envious, you won't want to do that. In that case you'll have to stew in your own juices of lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion, and envy birth after birth after birth. So the choice is yours. Give up your envy, surrender to Krishna taste the highest bliss at every minute, or cling tightly to your envy and remain a slave of illusion to suffer needlessly forever. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Enlightens His Disciples Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Can I Aspire to Be Both a Millionaire and a Devotee? Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glo

My dear Lord Sri Krishna, I humbly bow down before you begging that kindly bestow your unlimited causeless mercy upon me. I am not at all fit to be your devotee, but yet by the inconceivable mercy of my eternal spiritual master, your dearmost servitor, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I have been rescued from the whirlpool of material sense gratification and engaged in your eternal service. My spiritual master has instructed me to make the ISKCON Austin, Texas USA center a grand success, and he has also instructed us, his disciples, to become gurus and deliver the entire world. In order to be victorious in carrying out both of these orders I am begging your mercy because I know that on my own it is not possible to do so. Therefore, my dearmost Lord Sri Krishna, please cast your most merciful glance upon this most fallen soul, Sankarshan Das Adhikari, blessing him that he can please his spiritual master unlimitedly by making the Austin center a grand success and by

Much of what is nowadays being glorified in the world as science is not truly science. Why? Because it is not being conducted scientifically. It is not following the scientific method, which is based on systematic observation, measurement, and experiment. For example, a gentleman who is proclaimed as the world's leading scientist states as unequivocal truth that everything comes out of absolutely nothing. But where is the systematic observation, measurement, and experiment to confirm his concocted hypothesis? It simply does not exist. No one has ever observed something coming out of nothing, nor is there an experiment that one can conduct in a laboratory to derive something out of nothing. But yet, this foolish concoction is being propounded as the basic truth underlying our existence. This is why Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur says we are living a society of the cheaters and the cheated. If you want to know things as they really are, you can easily do so without being mis